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break-in driving
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Posted by Jason (more from Jason) on Tue, 10 Sep 2002 20:17:58 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: I dunno'...Anybody know about Trionic adaptability?, Mike Lynch [Profile/Gallery] , Tue, 10 Sep 2002 19:43:03
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To play it safe, I'd say drive moderately.

Here's what I do:

When starting the car in the morning, I let it idle just a bit, maybe 30-60 seconds or so, before taking off, to allow the oil to increase in pressure and circulate. I also leave the AC off during this period, to avoid the extra load of the compressor. Note that it's not good to let the car idle for more than a minute or so following a cold start; it'll just be running unnecessarily rich while it's idling. You're better off driving the car gently; the engine will warm up faster.

While the engine is still cold, accelerate gently, and try not to use much turbo boost. Limit your rpm to below 3,500-4,000 while the engine is cold. This is important even if the car is already broken in.

On a MT-equipped car, try to avoid lugging the engine. You'll feel and hear it when it happens. For instance, the engine isn't happy accelerating from ~40-45 mph in fifth gear. You can be lazy and press down on the gas to ask for boost (and you'll get boost!), but it'd be better to downshift into fourth.

Anyhow, once the engine is warm, SAAB says to keep the rpm below 5,000 during the break-in period. I'd be a little more cautious, and perhaps keep to below 4,000 rpm for the first 500 miles, and then below 5,000 rpm for the next 500-750 miles. After that, you can (and should) gradually increase the revs up to redline.

If you're too cautious and avoid high rpm altogether, the engine will take a very long time to break in!

I once bought a used 2-year old Civic that was like that. The owner was overly meticulous and drove it way too conservatively. When I first got that car, the engine was very tight, and wasn't making full power. It was a Honda engine, and yet it didn't want to rev! Quite uncharacteristic.

Well, that was easy to fix. After a few weeks of enthusiastic driving, the engine finally broke in properly, and it was MUCH stronger all throughout the rev band.

And as for the Trionic, no need to worry, it's constantly learning and relearning, so even if you don't drive the car flat out during the break-in period (you probably shouldn't, anyway), you can drive aggressively AFTER the break-in period is complete, and it'll adapt.

Now, before shutting the engine off, I'd let it idle for ~20-30 seconds to let the turbo spin down and cool off a bit. Idle a bit longer (60 seconds) if you've really been using lots of boost!

Jason
'02 Aero

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